Mary Catlin

Graduate Research Assistant

Legal decision-making, false admissions of guilt, wrongful convictions and exonerees

Mary Catlin is a doctoral student in Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University working as a research assistant for Dr. Allison Redlich in the MoDiLS Lab. Her research interests include exploring how social and cognitive factors influence victim (i.e., victims of crime and victims of the justice system itself) decision-making, with a special interest in wrongful convictions and false admissions of guilt. Her other interests include perceptions of Miranda waivers and Miranda decision-making.

Selected Publications

Redlich, A. D., Zottoli, T., Dezember, A., Schneider, R., Catlin, M., Shammi, S. (2022). Emerging issues in the psycho-legal study of guilty pleas. In D. DeMatteo & K. Scherr (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Law. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Catlin, M., & Scherr, K. C. (2021). The deleterious effect of victimization on just-world beliefs. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Advanced online publication.

Scherr, K. C., Normile, C. J., Luna, S., Redlich, A. D., Lawrence, M., Catlin, M. (2020). False admissions of guilt associated with wrongful convictions undermine people's perceptions of exonerees. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 26, 233-244. doi:10.1037/law0000238

Catlin, M., Scherr, K.C., Barlett, C., Jacobs, E., & Normile, C. J. (2019). Bounded blame: The effects of victim-perpetrator relationship and victimization history on judgments of sexual violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Advanced online publication.

Grants and Fellowships

High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG), “Interview and Interrogation Methods and their Effects on True and False Confessions”: Principal Investigator ($11,000) [co-PI: Allison D. Redlich & David B. Wilson] (2022)

Summer Scholarship, Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University (2022)

Presidential Scholarship, Office of the Provost, George Mason University (2020-present)

Education

M.S. in Applied Experimental Psychology, Central Michigan University

B.A. in Psychology, State University of New York at Potsdam

B.A. in Music, State University of New York at Potsdam

Recent Presentations

Catlin, M., Clow, K. A., Scherr, K. C., Normile, C. J., & Ralph, B. (2022). The Influence of Suspects’ Decision-Making on the Investigative Process. Poster presented at the annual conference at the American-Psychology Law Society, Denver, CO, March 17-20, 2022.

Catlin, M., & Redlich, A. D. (2022). Redefining “Years Lost”: The Impact of Wrongful Conviction on Lifespan. Presentation at the annual conference at the American-Psychology Law Society, Denver, CO, March 17-20, 2022.

Catlin, M., Wilson, D. B., Redlich, A. D., & Meissner, C. (2022). Interview and Interrogation Methods and their Effects on True and False Confessions in Current Directions in Suspect Interviewing, Research, and Practice. Symposium presented at the annual conference at the American-Psychology Law Society, Denver, CO, March 17-20, 2022.